Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Did you know Ed Roth made a record or two? Rods and Ratfinks was the album

The song Ed sang was "Rods and Ratfinks"- under the name Mr. Gasser and The Weirdos

They weren't really Gary Usher projects, but he did sing background vocals and the music was by Hal Blaine, Jerry Cole & Peter and Bob Klimes, produced by Jim Economides. There is a double CD that came out in 1995 on One Way Records that collects them all. INFO via: http://bomplist.xnet2.com/0007/msg01499.html

In 1964, Gary Usher left producing the studio bands that had gained him notoriety and jumped on the commercial bandwagon with this triple-LP collection of songs which were tied into the creations of illustrator Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose warped characters were all the rage during the mid-1960s, gracing decals, posters, t-shirts, and eventually were made into a very popular series of plastic models. In the best traditions of corporate greed, it was decided to expand the characters into the music market, and this trio of albums was quickly made, and Gary Usher, Columbia Records local hod-rod music impresario, was tapped to help write, produce, and sing on these hot-rod themed platters. While not breaking any new ground musically, the albums definitely have a sense of fun, with the first album Hod Rod Hootenanny sporting a redneck aura and songs like "Termites in My Woody" and "Eefen It Don't Go, Chrome It" which have a sly humor tied to groovy surf 'n' drag music which ranks among the best of the era. Unfortunately, the albums themselves have no information on who sings or plays on these tracks. The songs are generally bright invocations of car worship, with the unique addition of prominent female vocalists in the backing vocals. "Cool, Cool Rod" which is about a supercharged ice-cream truck, the frenetic instrumental "Surfink," the very funny Beach Boys parody "Surfer Ghoul" and the rocking "Ratfink High." One-Way Records released all three LPs on a double CD set in 1995, which has since gone out of print, and is ridiculously over-priced, but unlike the later "Big Daddy" Roth tie-ins below, this set is actually worth checking out.